the griffon shipwreck facts the griffon shipwreck facts

"An expedition of historic significance: the search for the elusive, "France claims historic Great Lakes wreck", "Great Lakes Exploration Group, France and Michigan Establish Cooperative Agreement For Shipwreck Exploration", "Divers begin Lake Michigan search for Griffin ship", "Griffin Shipwreck: Wooden Beam Not Attached To Buried Vessel, Researchers Say", "Explorer says Griffin shipwreck may be found", "Treasure hunters find mysterious shipwreck in Lake Michigan", "Four reasons why the Frankfort-area shipwreck can't be the Griffin", "Le Griffon: The Great Lakes' greatest mystery", "If you are in need of a mystery, here is a historic puzzle: What happened to La Salle's Griffon? Widely considered the Holy Grail of undiscovered Great Lakes shipwrecks, the Griffon carried no treasure, nor anything. These films range from comedies to dramas to long and short films. It was built with the intention of finding a route across the Great Lakes of North America to reach China and Japan. MICHIGAN -- Le Griffon, a well known ship that sunk in Lake Michigan during the 17th century, has been hiding at the depths of the lake for more than 300 years. Baillod said he is "99 percent sure" that the wreck is not that of the Griffon. It would no longer exist. "I didn't go down there with the expectation of seeing a shipwreck I can tell you that," Dykstra told Live Science. Unexpectedly, a nail attached itself to the magnet, and the treasure hunters only discovered it later, once they were above water. Welcome to the Coronation! Or the Jesuits had something to do with the disappearance. Le Griffon launched August 7, 1679 from Cayuga Island (Niagara Falls, NY). The figurehead likely isn't the remains of a griffin, he said, but a "big encrustation of zebra mussels," on burned wood. The nonprofit was created in 1997 and remains the longest running film festival in Michigan. The Griffin sank to the murky depths of. As noted above, sources give its size as either 20 tons or 40 tons. Most often described as a 45-ton barque, Le Griffon is considered the first full-sized sailing ship to ply the upper Great Lakes. Lawrence. 1 Answer. 'What I suspected was a ship was confirmed by me during a dive in September 2018. It would be awesome if true, she says, a story shed love the museum to be able to tell visitors, with the aura of amateur treasure-hunting and Indiana Jones. They dragged the materials to the mouth of the Niagara, rested and warmed up a few days in an Indian village, then carried the materials single file through the snow to their settlement above the falls. When will the Beast from the East be at YOUR door? "Some would believe that the Griffon sank somewhere in Lake Michigan in the northern part of the lake and has yet to be found," explained Van Heest. Steve Libert, from the Great Lakes Exploration Group, said he is 99.9% certain . Then they also talk with real people the individual citizens and businesses in communities to get their reactions to whats happening in Lansing. THE WRECK OF THE GRIFFON by Cris Kohl and Joan Forsberg, published and distributed by Seawolf Communications Inc. 224 pages. It was crafted by French explorer Robert de La Salle. The other wreckage has been approximately dated to between 1632 and 1682. Copyright 2023 HNGN. As for the pieces of wreckage Libert photographed, they cant be the Griffons because they would have broken to bits long, long ago if theyd been in shallow water battered by storms and ice for more than three centuries, van Heest says. On 27 December 2014, two divers, Kevin Dykstra and Frederick Monroe, announced the discovery of a wreck that they believe is Le Griffon, based on the bowstem, which to some resembles an ornamental griffin. After launching, it sailed the Niagara River to Lake Ontario, onward to Lake Erie, then by way of the St. Clair River to Lake Huron and northward to St. Ignace, the Straits of Mackinac and, finally, Lake Michigan. Each November, the East Lansing Film Festival showcases independent films. La Salle took personal command at this point due to evidence that the pilot was negligent. A 2015 book The Wreck of the Griffon by Cris Kohl and Joan Forsberg argues that the best "discovery" proposed to date remains the 1898 find by Albert Cullis, lighthouse keeper on the western edge of Manitoulin Island in northern Lake Huron. The two men did not bring up the nail on purpose, and they plan to return it to the state, said Dean Anderson, the state archaeologist for Michigan. "When the Griffin left from Wisconsin, headed back to Niagara, it was never heard from again," Porter said. In the Great Lakes region, there may be no older and more intriguing historical mystery than the 1679 disappearance of the Griffon, one of French explorer Robert La Salles ships. The vessel was loaded with furs so that they could be used to pay the French explorer and Griffon's master, Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle's creditors. "The Great Lakes are a time capsule, the fresh water preserves the ship wreck," Porter said. LaSalle had the ship built on a creek near the Niagara River to accomplish his mission of finding a passage to China. Follow Laura Geggel on Twitter @LauraGeggel. By Jack Timothy Harrison. Josh Gates tackles an enduring maritime mystery, the first ship to be lost in the Great Lakes, the Griffon. On a subsequent dive, Dykstra took a magnet with him to help determine the metal composition of the ship. The wind did slightly decrease but they drifted slowly all night, unable to find anchorage or shelter. La Salle was convinced that the captain and his crew had staged a coup, destroyed the ship, and seized all of the furs on the boat. Eric Freedman is professor of journalism and former associate dean of International Studies and Programs. ", 'Fifty-one years later, I am still intrigued by this story.'. Libert became instantly fascinated by the Griffon mystery as a 14-year-old student in Dayton, Ohio, where he first heard from a teacher about the missing ship with its figurehead of a griffon, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. "[5] J. C. Mills [4] quotes a letter from La Salle to the Minister of Marine that says, "The fort at Cataraqui (Fort Frontenac) with the aid of a vessel now building, will command Lake Ontario"[4] While no date is given for the letter, the location of Mill's reference to it suggests that it was sent before 1677, perhaps as early as 1675. Richard Gross. In 2011, Michigan-based treasure hunters Kevin Dykstra and Frederick Monroe found a shipwreck as they were searching for the $2 million in gold that, according to local legend, fell from a ferry crossing Lake Michigan in the 1800s, they told WZZM, a western Michigan news station. Your comment will appear after being approved. In 2011, Michigan-based treasure hunters Kevin Dykstra and Frederick Monroe found a shipwreck as they were searching for the $2 million in gold that, according to local legend, fell from a ferry. He recounts his hunt and discovery in Le Griffon and the Huron Islands, 1679 (Mission Point Press), written with his wife. Until there is an expedition (to the site) with politically unaligned professionals, I will not weigh in one way or another, said Vrana, whose nonprofit group has consulted with Libert. LANSING Historical mysteries may take decades, even centuries, to solve if ever. On its maiden voyage, it sailed across Lake Erie, up the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers, and across Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. 'She will sink beneath the deep waters and your blood shall stain the hands of those in whom you trusted!'. Rather, it may be the remnants of a tugboat that was scrapped after "steam engines became more economical to operate," said Brendon Baillod, a Great Lakes historian who has written scholarly papers on the Griffin. The ship was constructed and launched on Cayuga Creek on the Niagara River as a seven-cannon, 45-ton barque. The exact size and construction of Le Griffon is not known but many researchers believe she was a 45-ton barque. Over the years there have been 22 claims of the discovery of the Griffon. Rochester, New York - The wreckage of the schooner Atlas which sank in 1839 during a gale has been located in Lake Ontario. No villain can mess with the griffin! Barge 129 was found in Lake Superior, 35 miles off Vermilion Point in 650 feet of water. Creating a fur trade monopoly with the Native Americans would finance his quest and building Le Griffon was an "essential link in the scheme". All rights reserved (About Us). POTUS Had Cancerous Lesion Removed From His Chest Last February! The griffin (also called gryphon, gryphen, griffon, griffen, and gryphin), is a legendary creature.It has the head, front legs, and wings of an eagle.The rest of the body looks like a part of a lion.. Where are the cannons? Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. To skeptics who doubt Liberts identification of the wreckage, he responds, The clues are there., Van Heest says the books account of the expedition from the Niagara River to Lake Michigan has the facts down, but once we get to the story of the supposed bowsprit it all falls apart because its not a bowsprit.. La Salle's prime focus in 1678 was building Le Griffon. It was another vessel used by La Salle and Tonti, however, that was the first loss on 8 January 1679. LaSalle's Griffon has not been found. Mr Libert said: 'There are numerous theories as to what happened to The Griffin. Ive seen dozens and dozens of 100- to 150-year-old ships, and that is not a 350-year-old ship. La Salle followed the southern shore of the lake. The Griffon was the first European ship ever to sail the Great Lakes. "It was a hand-forged nail, which helps date it back to that time period, we feel." If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. The Griffin - or Le Griffon - was a sailing ship built on the Niagara River in the 1670s French explorer Robert de La Salle hoped to use it to find the Northwest Passage to China and Japan It. Megan SampVoters at the Hannah Community Center share why voting matters to them. Its fate has been a puzzlement for maritime historians for more than three and a half centuries. All Rights Reserved. The Griffon has not been found, Wayne Lusardi, the state archaeologist in the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, says bluntly. Usually depicted as half lion and half eagle, this ancient beast is more than the sum of its parts. Jupiter and Venus 'kiss' in a stunning planetary conjunction tonight. Wirehaired pointing griffons are famously known as a 'supreme gundog.'. Do not reproduce without permission. Wherever the Griffon is, if its in deep water somewhere, there are cannons near it, she says. They moored in quiet water off Squaw Island three miles from Lake Erie waiting for favorable northeast winds. Some say Le Griffon was named for Count Frontenac whose coat of arms was ornamented with the mythical griffin. While they were at times fitted with mast and sails, their primary propulsion was either oars or poles. It has become one of the most sought after and perhaps one of the most "found" shipwrecks in the Great Lakes! Shipwreck explorers Jim Kennard, Roger Pawlowski and A group of maritime history enthusiasts have the announced the discovery of the schooners Peshtigo and St. Andrews, lost in 1878 in northern Lake Michigan. La Salle and Father Louis Hennepin set out on the ship during its maiden voyage on August 7am , 1969 along with a crew of 32. "There was no rudder on the boat," Dykstra said. Cathy Green, the executive director of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, is also skeptical, calling it highly unlikely that its the Griffon and nearly impossible to definitively know because of the centuries of damage to shallow water wrecks from ice, storms and rising and falling lake levels. 'I was emotionally drained of all my energy, and was in a complete state of relief and exhaustion, but I could still yell out the words "we found it!" A bit of history: The Griffon was built in 1679 and launched that year, believed to be the largest ship on the Great Lakes. WHITEFISH POINT, MICH.- The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) is proud to announce the discovery of the 292-foot Whaleback vessel, Barge 129. Griffin is an English East India Company ship which sank in Sulu Sea near Basilan Island in 1761. Libert may be a secret agent by day-- he works as a senior defense analyst for the U.S. Navy -- but by night he's a passionate hunter for the old and precious. They fly at an altitude of 4,900 and 11,500 feet. Is Joe Biden Sick? My interest began the day my teacher reached over and touched my shoulder and said out loud in class, Maybe one day someone in this class will find it.. La Salle never saw the Griffin again. [9][pageneeded] They wished to secure a reliable truce lest the natives interfere with their projects. Joe Porter, publisher for Wreck Diving Magazine, has penned articles on famous ship wrecks including the Titanic, but saidthe Griffon is the most fascinating. The griffin was a favourite decorative motif in the ancient Middle Eastern and Mediterranean lands. That evidence? [Shipwrecks Gallery: Secrets of the Deep]. In January of 1679, the Griffon's building party arrived at the mouth of Cayuga Creek on the Niagara River (about a mile from my high school) where the ship would be built. Griffin was the name of a 17th-century ship known to have sailed between England and English settlements along Massachusetts Bay in British America. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Alex Murdaugh unanimously found GUILTY of murder of wife and son, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Isabel Oakeshott clashes with Nick Robinson over Hancock texts. Around 4:00pm the Shannon passed Oswego light and headed out into the lake. While there La Salle selected a site for building Le Griffon. The mythical griffin is a creature of ferocity and nobility. Megan SampTickets can be bought online or at Studio C in Okemos. Le Griffon, 17th-century sailing ship built by Robert de La Salle may have been found in Lake Michigan 335 years after it disappeared. The ship landed on an island in Lake Michigan where the local tribes had gathered with animal pelts to trade with the French. New York, There the crew ignored a warning from local Native Americans not to sail into the lake from the safe harbor at Washington Island because of high wind danger from a massive storm. 3. The Griffin was last seen struggling off Washington Island and was never heard from again. Dykstra said he took photos of old cannons, a sword, and the griffin sculpture, evidence he says reveals the wreck and itsmissing secrets. On its way back to Niagarafrom Green Bay, the Griffon disappeared with its entire crew and valuable cargo of furs commencing the centuries-long quest to discover its fate. TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) A debris field at the bottom of Lake Michigan may be the remains of the long-lost Griffin, a vessel commanded by a 17th-century French explorer, said a shipwreck . [6][8][11][pageneeded] There the keel was laid on 26 January 1679. [citation needed], After La Salle and Tonti left, the pilot and the rest of the crew were to follow with the supply vessel. She was found by an aircraft belonging to the US Navy on 14th November 1975. Only about 375 of Lake Erie's wrecks have been found. She says American marine archaeologists concluded that what Libert claims is the bowsprit was beyond a doubt part of a Native American fishing trap.